Chapter 11 - Eavesdropping on Chubbs

Im going to start putting a few little past memories into the story so I hope you like it!

Remember to comment your thoughts!

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It was night. Matt had already transformed, thank goodness. Sweating, he’d got up from his quivering wolf form and had padded out of his back door into his garden. The moon shined in segments, the glow clouded over with grey fluffs. Stars lingered in the sky like sparks of fireworks. It was, again, a nice night. Only a slight breeze ruffled Matt’s fur and made him shiver slightly.

Shadows were scattered on the greying grass, his little sister’s swing lightly swaying up and down, highlighting the scratches underneath where she had engraved ‘Aimee’ into the plastic. Matt smiled and made his way to it, poking the rope with his nose. He closed his eyes and made himself lost in the memory…

“Matt look!”

“What is it?”

“Come here!”

Matt, dressed in Hawaii shorts that only just reached his knees, took off his sunglasses and ran his fingers through his hair, smiling up at the baking sunshine. The smell of summer had finally arrived and already his family had dressed as if they were on a Caribbean holiday. He could hear the cheeping of birds passing overhead and his neighbour’s summer music CD blaring from over the wall, but he wasn’t in the mood to complain. Everything was perfect right now. Things couldn't be any more perfect.

His life was exactly how he wanted it to be. It was relaxed and natural and just perfect.

There was no other way to describe it.

“Matt!”

“What?” He murmured and rubbed his eyes, smiling even more as he did so. He loved teasing his sister. She knew he didn’t mean it. He could never be mean to her. He loved her too much and she definitely knew it.

Rolling up into the sitting position, he stretched and moved his shoulders as the sun hit his tanning back. Then he flicked his hair from his face and looked up at his little sister, who was running across the garden, her long silky hair bouncing off her back and waving in the summer breeze like rays of sunshine streaming out of her skin.

She grabbed his hand and launched him off the sun bed with obvious effort. He pushed off the floor so that it would be easier for her and let her lead him towards the swing, all the while humming the tune travelling over the wall and laughing when Aimee shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“You cant sing at all.”

“It’s not singing its humming.” Matt pushed her arm and pulled a tongue out at her, grinning from ear to ear, watching as she began to pout.

“Singing, humming, same thing. You’re bad at it.”

Matt could hear the smile in his sister’s voice and took advantage of it. “That’s not very nice. I'm a well good singer, me.”

“Shut up, fat head. Come look!”  She tugged on his hand and he responded with quicker steps. They were moving towards the swings, one of Aimee’s favourite places to be during the summer. Half of her teddies lay across the grass, facing the sun with Barbie sunglasses on, accompanied by Aimee’s favourite dolls that sat on the other side of the swing, tangled up in a plastic mess, clothes and accessories littering the floor.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?” Matt laughed and stopped dead, making Aimee almost head butt the poles. She let go of his hand and huffed, putting her hands on her hips and pouting.

“Shut up and I’ll tell you! You talk way too much.” She turned her back on Matt and started to bend down so that she sat on the grass, her back facing Matt's amused smirk. She indicated Matt to do the same, oblivious of his expression.

Once he did so, she smiled widely.

“Okay, look!” She tipped her usual swing upside down and, scratched into the plastic, was Aimee’s name in large letters.

“What have you done, Aimee?”  Matt said accusingly and gasped at the messy writing. “Now we cant sell it when you get older and leave.”

Aimee, obviously not expecting this kind of response, sat back and folded her arms defensively. “You’re not going to sell it. Im going to take it with me when I go and use it every day. I will always love this swing. I will always use it even when I get married. Then, when I die, I’ll pass it on and then they’ll always remember me because my name will be in it. I thought it was quite good. Don't you like it?”

Matt looked at the scratches again and the plastic tugged at his fingertips. He could see what she meant but it still was wrong. It was like graffiti. However, he was still in a good mood so he shrugged it off and got up, ignoring her question and her large weary eyes. “Fine. But if Mum and Dad see it you’re done for.”

“That’s why I wrote it underneath, duh.” Aimee said smugly and got up, twisting the swing back over and sitting on it, snatching a teddy off the ground and snuggling her face into the crook of it's neck.

“So…” Matt leaned against the right metal pole, as Aimee began to swing, and folded his arms, arching his eyebrow. “Who’s going to father your children then? You know, when you get old and die, you need a husband. Who do you have in mind eh?”

Aimee blushed and lowered her gaze as Matt smirked and fiddled with his sunglasses in his hand. He already knew all about Peter but he liked to embarrass Aimee about him at every given opportunity. It was the kind of thing brothers did to their sisters and Matt thought it was right to do so to Aimee too and keep his brother rank up.

He didn't want to look like a softy which gave in to everything his sister wanted, even though it was true.

“I don’t know. It’s a long way away.”

“Not as long as you think.”

“You know I’ve always liked Peter.” She admitted, blushing and shielding her cute little button-nosed face.

“Tell him you do? He’ll never know otherwise. He might feel the same. Take advice from Big Brother Matt.”  Matt smirked and stood up tall, looking up into the distance, and Aimee laughed, rolling her eyes, her cheeks flushed as she looked up proudly at her brother.

“He doesn’t even know I exist. Like Im going to take advice from you, lover boy.” She grinned. “I'm too young remember? You’re the one who needs relationship advice.”

Matt held his hand to his chest in mock horror, watching as Aimee giggled into her fingers. “Me? Moi? No. Im fine just the way I am.” He shook his head and pushed it off as if it meant nothing to him.

“Oh come on.” Aimee bounced off the swing and skipped to her brother’s side. “Im not stupid. I’ve seen the way you look at Frankie. You cant keep your eyes off her yet you never say a word to her when she's around. Take your own advice first before you start telling me what to do.” She pushed his elbow and Matt rolled his eyes and adjusted his standing position so that he wasn’t looking at her.

Sometimes Matt wondered whether Aimee was a twenty year old in a little girl's body. She was too smart and mature for her age, but Matt loved it. He was proud of her. She was definitely going to achieve some great things in life. She was destined to thrive. She would break a lot of hearts but Matt preferred it that way. Aimee was strong. She wouldn't let a boy boss her around...

Except perhaps her wonderful handsome big brother.

“That is completely different. Frankie isn’t interested in me. She just considers me a friend. Why ruin a good relationship? I don’t like her like that anyway.” Matt shrugged innocently, looking up to the sky as he felt the sun beat against his shoulders.

“Yeah. Right. Okay then. I believe you.” Aimee rolled her eyes and smirked before skipping across the garden. “Frankie and Matt sitting in a tree…” She sang and Matt blushed, laughing as he chased her into the house…

He never really knew what happened to Frankie after that horrible event.

Something caught Matt’s eye and he snapped out of the memory suddenly, surprised, a wash of guilt and pain returning to him as he remembered what happened to his sister. His nose was resting against the pole that he had stood at just last year with her, the moisture from his breath creating condensation on the metal.

It took him a few moments to realise that something had pulled him out of that happy memory. He lifted his head and glanced around the garden.

Everything was eerily silent.

Then something moved in the corner of his eye. A shadow of a still bush suddenly bent in a weird position. He turned his head more and the shadow moved slightly to the right. He slowly got up and turned to face it.

It knew it had been spotted and Matt cursed the fact that he'd been so obvious.

It fled.

He could see the shape of a person sprinting on the grass as they flew over the fence into next door. Matt was startled and narrowed his eyes before jumping after it, his nails digging into the ground as he sprinted after this shadow.

What was it? Obviously it was a person, as the shape was recognisable compared to any other animal, yet he couldn’t smell anyone like he was sure he would be able to. Maybe he had a cold or something. Could werewolves get colds?

He was sure he would have heard them or smelt their flowery smells or even noticed with his radar.

Nothing.

They’d snuck up on him and he was surprised. No one had ever done that to him before, no one human. That and there was no fixed solid to the shadow. Matt couldn’t see anything attached to the shadow, just movement. It was strange. It was fast.

It was probably almost as fast as him.

No sooner had he launched into the road, the shadow was already half way down it, heading towards the town. He frowned and pushed himself harder, forcing himself faster than he’d ever gone. He blurred in his vision as he raced after it.

Whatever it was, he was going to catch it.

This thing had been spying on him. How long had it been there? Did someone know about him? Had someone guessed? He hoped not. Whoever it was, he needed to stop them and fast, before they reached the town and exposed him to drunks and late night out groups.

Not like they'd believe them but Matt didn't want the risk. He was already a freak in this town. He didn't want to risk it even if he was sure that his secret was safe, though they'd seen him in his garden. Unless they coincidentally happened to pass by his house and see him staring longingly at the swing, it was clear that they either knew who he was or where he lived, or would probably have a pretty good idea by the end of the night about the connection shared between the house and the longing werewolf.

He sucked in the smells with his nose harshly, scraping and searching for any sign of an unfamiliar smell. Still there was nothing. The shadow was hitting the buildings now and Matt was still 100 yards away. He grunted and pushed as hard as he could, his eyes narrowing to slits, a growl in his throat, waiting for any chance to be let free.

It turned. Matt leaped towards it, almost hitting the first main building. It quickly changed route and sped down a nearby alley. Matt almost had to smile. That alley led to nowhere. This thing wasn’t going anywhere, and turning the corner had only made Matt speed up, now right on it’s tail. He growled in his throat and sprang into the alleyway, hoping that he was close enough to pin this thing down.

Nothing.

Matt’s paws landed on concrete and scratched against the pavement like nails on a chalk board as he skidded to a stop and looked around. Walls of old brick and moss loomed over him as if on a slant, the top of the buildings misting into the night, casting a large blanket of blackness hovering a few metres in the air.

The ground was hard and littered with old bottles and wrappers of chip containers, a grey tint looming over each object. There was nothing out of the ordinary. At least there weren’t any gangs of teenagers down this alley, otherwise that definitely wouldn’t have been good. He’d been so focussed on catching up with this thing he’d never really checked his radar.

Matt did so now, blinking on his green radar and taking a deep breath…

Something stank. Really, really badly. It smelt like rotting meat. Matt snorted and shook his head as the power of it overwhelmed him. He arched his back, feeling sick to the stomach. Whatever it was, it wasn’t very appealing. Matt took a step backwards, begging for air. However, not wanting to make an exit for his prey, he stood his ground and tried to block his nose.

Something was coming up on his radar too, but the heat wasn’t very strong. It was dimming the longer he looked at it. Matt huffed and stepped closer, the glow almost a shimmer in the darkness now. It wasn’t human; he would have smelt the scent of a human. No, this was…this was an animal.

Matt dropped his shoulders and stepped closer now, aware of his surroundings but interested in the animal. It looked like a sheep shape; there was heat running from it's body onto the floor. Once he was close enough he flicked off his radar and then backed off in disgust, a whelp in his chest.

It wasn’t a sheep, but a dog. A dark red haired matted dog about in the middle of it's life. Matt scrunched up his nose and whined as he backed off. It wasn’t a nice sight. He didn’t like looking at a dead creature, more so because it was a dog, and he guessed it may have been because he was slightly related. Whatever it was, it disturbed him, and Matt backed off, his tail down, glancing around for the culprit.

There was nothing there, though. No one but him was in the alleyway. Somehow the shadow had gotten away. He guessed, considering the shadow came this way, that it knew about this death, and probably caused it. That or it knew something about this death of this poor creature and who did it. Or maybe it was testing theories about him. Maybe it was trying to see what would scare him, what his weakness was.

Well, Matt was no scaredy cat. He wasn’t going to let a dead dog stop him. He scrunched up his nose and moved forward, pressing his nose to the dog’s cooling paw. It had died today, not too long ago. He hoped it hadn’t been in pain, but of course it had. There were bites around its neck and scratches down its back, a large chunk of the stomach ripped away, leaving it bleeding to death in the alleyway with no one to help it, no one to see it happen.

It was heartbreaking, but Matt couldn’t do anything about it now. He straightened up and gently gripped the dog’s tail, pulling the body to the side next to the wall. At least it wouldn’t be stood on during the night. Someone was bound to find it in the morning. Dogs don’t just disappear without owners looking for them.

He nudged the body against the wall with his nose and then stepped back. Flies were already starting to land on it but Matt couldn’t stop that. He didn’t want to hide it because he wanted someone to find it. They’d blame it on a larger animal, considering the injuries, and so he’d have to be more careful. Looking for prey would surely endanger him more than the danger he was in normally. He really needed to be on guard more, especially now.

Quietly, Matt backed up out of the alleyway and moved around the building out of sight from passing drunks and late night wanderers. He didn’t know what to do now. His chase had disappeared somewhere out of sight and he’d found a body. The smell had put him off food, though his stomach still clenched when thinking about pork and steak. He wished he had more stuff to do.

Yawning, he moved behind a grotty little pub next door and sat down outside the back door, putting his head in his paws and stretching. All that running had gotten his muscles tight. He adjusted his shoulders and the hair on his back stood on its end as the wind whistled around the building.

Matt was close enough to the pub to hear the shouting and cheering of the drunks inside, music blearing in the background, glasses chinking as people made toasts. One table was just behind the back door. Their conversation was the loudest. Matt could just see the back of one and the side of another, both quite large and chubby.

The man with his back to Matt was leaning over the rounded scratched wooden table, making it tilt as his beer belly caught the edge. His hair was inky black, slicked back to his head, a red chubby neck squished into a small white collar and baggy shirt. He looked sweaty and messy, a failed attempt to look smart. His friend was also large with coppery hair pushed all to one side in a greasy mess. His face was especially red as if he’d been sunburnt and his clothes looked as if they’d never been ironed.

They were both huddling around this table, separate from the rest of the people. They looked as if they were drunk but still slightly in control of themselves, though they were beginning to tip. Matt closed his eyes but kept his ears alert, listening to their conversation with boredom.

“…Ya-see, this pub is grand. Don’t need no posh place to have fun eh?” The black haired guy punched his friend in the arm and barked out a loud laugh.

His friend laughed too and swigged down a glass of beer. “Too right, Frank, too right. Posh place’s for snobs, init? We aint no snobs. This here’s just perfect.” He burped loudly.

Frank belched and sat back in his chair, causing the wood under him to creak. “Ai. Got all the entertainment we need righ’ here. Proper great place. Food, music and beer!”

They all cheered and chinked their glasses.

Then the guy called Frank shushed them and his chair groaned as he moved. “Yea’ all good. All good. But aint you heard bout them hunters they have round here? Nasty stuff, mate, nasty.”

“Hunters? I aint heard bout no hunters in this place, Frank.”

“No?”

Matt opened his eyes and his ears pricked.

Frank leaned closer to his mate and began to whisper more quietly. “I ‘as heard some funny stuff, Bill. Freaky stuff I ‘as. Apparently there’s these hunters, see? Hunters that aint allowed here. They ‘as been taking all these cows and sheep and funny farm animals like that. Killin’ em. Ripping em to pieces and leaving the scraps in the woods.”

Bill gasped then slugged down another glass. “Oh dear. That aint good.”

“Too right.”

Matt swallowed, on full alert now. He thought he’d been so careful. He thought no one had noticed the disappearances of a cow a day or a sheep or goat. They obviously had as there was rumours going round. He was in more danger than he expected. He jumped to his feet and began to move away. That is…until he heard Frank whisper again.

“They ‘as been murders too, Bill. Lots of em. One every night. I ‘as heard the mutterings from these here police chums. Scary eh? They ‘as kept it on the down low so as not to worry peoples. I is gathering this is not the town for freaky disappearances. Been three this week already, Bill, three! I, here, feel sorry for the folks. Poor people, losing their kids like that. Must be hard. Their own fault, mind you, leaving them alone in the house while they go prance off out.”

“That’s terrible Frank.”

“Ai. Becoming more and more recent. One minute the kids there the next…POOF! Bye, bye Daisy.” Frank bounced on his seat and waved his hands in the air to emphasise the point.

“They ‘as not found any bodies?”

“One. Was stuck behind a bin in the kid’s back garden. Poor kid. Would think the cops would have caught the guy by now. Come up with nothin’. No fingerprints or nothin’. They is as clueless as everyone else, they are. Waste of space I say. We should all be out lookin’, not ignoring the fact our kids are missing. Bloody stupid, Bill, bloody stupid. Need a good whack to knock sense into em.”

“Ai. A shame though. They will find em though wont they Frank?”

“Nah. I dunno mate. They ‘as been gone a long time now. They may never be comin’ back.”

“Pity.”

The two men drank their drink then sighed. Then Frank turned to Bill and his eyebrows wiggled, hairy caterpillars above his eyes, they looked like. “Enough of this here sadness. Let’s go sing some songs.”

“Right behind you Frank.” Bill said and knocked his glass over as he stood up, being dragged by Frank, who bounced on his already squished feet.

Matt stood frozen for a minute, then blinked and began to run home, too much on his mind to pay much attention to his surroundings. There had been several murders, right under his nose. How hadn’t he noticed? He must have really not been paying much attention to what was going on around him.

If there had been murders he had to really get himself into gear. No messing around. No games. Kristen was no longer a problem. She didn’t even come close to this. This was his responsibility to look after the people and he was doing a really bad job at the moment. He needed to buckle down and get used to it.

That and his eating habits had to change. He’d have to move further away from the town and take a larger range of food if he wanted to survive without being hungry all day. Eating too much close to town was obviously not a good idea when people were discovering his eating system. Soon they’d end up checking in on him, checking at the wrong time no doubt.

He got home in no time at all, his stomach rumbling and protesting about the lack of food. He ignored it and sat, or lay, on the sofa, hanging his feet off the edge. He pushed his hair down his back and messed around with his fluffy tail.

There was so much to think about in so little time. First, how to stop all of these murders or ‘disappearances’ he’d just heard about. There were too many problems to even start thinking about. Where to start? What to do? When? How? Who was it? How to find out? His head began to hurt thinking through all the questions, looking for answers, and he’d only just started!

Second, how was he going to sort all of his eating habits out? He would have to be more sneaky and less picky on his food, maybe travel out of the country, as he could drive slightly and even then he could run and not pick up a sweat. What animals would he eat? There were so many decisions to make in such a short period of time.

Lastly, but it didn’t really seem important enough to be counted as something to think about, was Kristen. What could he do with her? She was in danger and he didn’t want her - or anyone else, of course - getting taken. He couldn’t exactly warn her. He couldn’t just go up to her and go, ‘hey guess what? There’s a murderer on the loose and you may be next!’

One, she’d probably freak out and, two, she probably wouldn’t believe him anyway. Why would she? He’d been nothing but defensive and horrible to her, forcing her away like he cant bear to be near her, as he should.

There was another option. Matt knew Kristen was different, that she was hiding something and he didn’t know what. He wasn’t sure whether it had anything to do with all of the things that were suddenly happening or if it was just a coincidence but whatever it was, he needed to find out what it was. Maybe it would help him find out the problems and answer all of his questions.

Matt went off into a trance, too wrapped up in all of his problems and unanswered theories to sleep. Only when the sky began to lighten and the sun began to rise was he flung out of his thoughts with his own piercing scream.